Power Talk │ February 2021│Ready to Startup

SUCCESS
POTION
Execution always trumps novelty of an idea. As an incubator that sees more 60 applications monthly, on an
average, and has incubated over 90 startups in the last 3 years, we can say this as a fact, that an idea is only
as good as a blank paper, until it is being worked upon in real time. The newness of an idea is not a
parameter of its potential success, the efforts being put in by the team to survive in the market ranks much
higher. Also, funding should be used as a tool by a venture for its expansion, and not for its existence! Also
don’t expect instant returns on your investment. It takes a minimum of 3-5 year for an idea to become a
successful venture.
Start-up to UNICORN
Context is very necessary when we talk about
scaling a venture. You cannot point towards any one
playbook or one treatment, because when you look
at the start-ups which have really achieved unicorn
status, you will understand that for every insight,
there is a flip side also. There are many unicorns
who succeeded because they had the first mover
advantage, and then there are the stories of those
who failed because they were ahead of the market!
So which adage do you follow? But having said
that, there are a few things which helps in building a
sustainable unicorn and here I will emphasize on
sustainability because it is important to not only
create but also maintain momentum.
If you look at it, there are just a few things that
most unicorns had in common
• The most important, a simple solution to an
existing problem, which is felt by many.
• A strong value proposition and distinct
positioning
• A clear roadmap for the future
• An easy to use User Interface and a good User
Experience
Power Talk l Ready to StartUp
Watch Out
This question is a tricky one, as it would be a very
difficult to point a single most important thing in a
start-up’s journey. What we need to understand, is
that every start-up has a unique journey, that
depends on things like the sector and industry the
idea is based in, to the background of the founders
and innumerable factors in between. The fact that
you do not get influenced by anybody else’s
journey and do not hesitate to take a new road
through an uncharted territory while on your
journey, would be the most important thing. Equal
importance must be given to the intent of the
journey and your fellow companions on it.
Financial and emotional support plays a major
role. Do build up on financial reserves also, as you
begin the start-up journey
Pitch Perfect
Know your audience before telling them a story! For
an entrepreneur who has worked on his/her idea,
day and night, it is at times difficult to choose what
to share and how to articulate it. The same idea has
to be presented, shared with different people in
different capacities, which for an entrepreneur is a
normal day at work. This at times, even
unknowingly, takes a templated form of a pitch,